Friday, 24 February 2012

We have been meaning to decorate the front room for a long time as the paper was peeling and it was looking rather tired. I spent months of research looking for the right wallpaper but never came across anything worth buying i had noticed with the last design too many people had the same wallpaper and i like to have something different. With wallpaper i feel it ages too quick i quite like the bird in the bush but in my opinion too expensive when you have a little one using the wall as a ladder. I spent a lot of time choosing the right colour and in the end just decided i wanted a Beige/Grey/Blue i did a quick dash to F&B and chose Cornforth White.

It looks darker in real life but has a nice relaxing feel to it. My other half thinks its more of a council office block colour, he had me in stitches. I want to pair this room with layered curtains and possible a hint of pink but he cant see it. Everyone knows that pink goes with grey and i will convince him when i just put them up anyway. Last week i made a white ruffle valance for the window i am not sure if its a bit over the top but it takes the edge off the council office that's for sure.

I cant wait to rearrange the front room and add the huge mirror that has been kicking about in my bedroom for some time. Will update with pictures soon.

I recently purchased some seat covers well when i say recently i actually mean 2 months ago. Waited so long for them to arrive i wanted something to jazz up the front room and give it a country chic feel rather than juice stains and the odd smear of butter fingers over the sofa. I ordered these from China and it took 2 long agonising months to get the seller to actually post these to the right address. I wouldn't want to give you the website as i really do not trust them and certainly wont be ordering off them again. They were reasonably priced but once the shipping was added and then yet to my belief "Import Tax" i could of made these 10 times over myself for half the price. I liked the Cath Kidston feel to them and as we had decided to decorate the front room and stairs i thought they would add a nice touch. Here are a few pictures from the website.

They look thick and heavy but they were very thin i ordered two for my corner sofa and they fit really well.
For £80 i was disappointed in the quality but i guess we live and learn.

This is just one half of the sofa i will upload pictures once the front room is completed. As you can see my little lad has his hands in the air scared stiff to touch the seat covers.

I came across this display cabinet on the local selling site this week, i had to have it as it was only £30 and i saw so much potential in this character. The way it is carved reminded me of the big dresser that i have, although this one is dark wood i am still thinking of colours to paint it for some reason "pink" is screaming at me. I am getting a bit bored of of the cream so i will have to take a trip to Farrow & Ball. I will keep you updated on this exciting project. Also i wouldn't mind getting my hands on some antique effects paint just to keep some character in this beauty. I am always surprised why people just throw away furniture at stupid prices maybe its just me is it really just junk or do i appreciate once loved pieces of furniture.

There was a nice carved door which fell off and crushed my hand in transition this will be put back on once completed.

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Ok so i had my eye on this certain style of Valance sheet but they only seemed to sell these in America. They call them dust ruffles and i fell in love with them as soon as i saw one, layered white frills cascading onto the floor in a shabby messy style. This Valance sheet doesnt look perfect but in my opinion makes a bed stand out. I had seen these on ebay and etsy but are too exspensive for a Valance sheet or a Dust ruffle you are looking at £80 - £100 probably worth more than my bed itself.

So i decided to have a go at making one myself i have never used a sewing machine since the age of 15 so it took me a while to get the hang of it. It didn't really matter if it was offline or uneven i think it gave it more of a shabby chic look. I took a simple Valance sheet and a flat sheet, cut the sheet into strips and sewed a hem on each strip. Then sewed each piece of material onto the side of the valance sheet and voila. Here is my very own hand made dust ruffle.

I only did one side as it took me 3 days to work out the sewing machine but then found time to finish all three sides of this beauty. I think i love it more because it was something i created at the price of £18 god i love bargains.

Last year i went a bit Nordic crazy with the Christmas theme i put these up a month early but i soon got bored of it all, not just the decorations but switching every light off before going to bed. Here are a few photos that i took before i took them down.

I have been so busy this year that i negelected this blog but i am back now feeling inspired and i have lots to talk about. Last year i was buying lots of secound hand furntiure putting my mark on it and then selling it. I hate parting with all the bits that i purchase but its purely a hobby and i have no room to store what my partner calls "Junk" sometimes i hardly even need to work on these pieces just a sand down will do.

This table was purchased from my local charity shop they only stock furniture and have a huge turnover so they have to keep their stock at low prices, I managed to buy this table for £6 i couldnt get it out of the shop quick enough. The only problem with this table was the hinge! it was bent! a hinge costs £2 they might aswell of given it away at that price. So i sanded the top down and left the legs as they had a shabby chic style to them. Whilst out shopping i had seen the exact same style of table in Marks & Spencers home department priced at £200. So i popped this table on Gumtree and sold it for £50 its amazing what people will buy and think they caught a bargain. Most people dont see the pottential in "Junk" maybe because they dont enjoy the restoration or dont know where to start or like me just dont have to space for storage.

About Me

Welcome to my blog my name is Tracy I became a stay at home mum in 2011 and ever since then I have found a new love in our home.
My partner of 13 years and my son are a huge part of my life, we live in Manchester and enjoy city life.
My love for shabby chic has grown on me over the years and it was only this past year our home has changed dramatically. Being a stay at home mum means spending a lot of time looking at the four walls I wanted to make use of this time a challenge some creative energy into our new family home.
What we couldn't afford we have simply renovated and what I have not found I have simply made myself.
Your home say's more about you more than money ever will so enjoy putting your mark and love into everything you create.